


Death Reversed

by Lillio



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Death, F!Apprentice - Freeform, F/M, Female!Apprentice, NSFW, Oral Sex, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 19:02:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15153593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lillio/pseuds/Lillio
Summary: Julian and a fem!apprentice reunite after his death.





	Death Reversed

She’d never seen someone die before, at least not that she could remember. She didn’t know what she’d expected. Perhaps she thought he’d look like he was sleeping. Still, peaceful. That, she could have beared.

But death wasn’t nearly so kind. The Julian lying before her was cold, his already pale skin bloodless and almost translucent now. Like wax, rather than flesh. Without his charming, impossible personality behind them, the dark circles around his eyes made him look sunken and angular. There was no trace of his laughter, his tears, his flare for the dramatic. There was only a preternatural stillness.

And then there was the ligature mark, the angry purple-green against the white of his skin. And worse still, the pillow under his head that did nothing to hide the awkward, unnatural angle of his neck.

At least it would have been quick, she told herself.

She slid a hand into his palm, his stiff fingers unable to curl around hers. She nestled in close, arms around him like he might revive if only she could give him some of her warmth.

If it was going to happen, wouldn’t it already have? Any other time he’d used his curse around her, it had only been a matter of seconds. A minute or two, if it was particularly grievous.

She refused to believe it was too late, couldn’t even bear to consider the possibility that he was really gone. If he were really dead, and she had just stood by and watched…

She balled her fists in the fabric of his flimsy white shirt, steadfastly ignoring the growing wet stain under her cheek.

\- - -

Minutes turned to hours, and the guards didn’t have the heart to move her. Even Asra’s gentle coaxing proved ineffective.

“Just leave me alone with him for a little while longer, please.” she had said, her gaze low, hiding under the cover of her disheveled hair. She couldn’t let him see her like this, couldn’t bear how much more real it all felt with someone else here.

He looked stricken, but only for a moment. His expression quickly moulded into a familiar, gentle smile, tinged with something like a memory. “Of course.” he said, a warm hand on her shoulder. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”

And then they were alone again. She laid against him, listening for a breath or even the dull thud of his heartbeat. But after a while with nothing, she found the tension in her muscles slackening, her body weak without the constant bolster of adrenaline. And unable to force her eyes to remain open any longer, she let them slip shut. Just for a moment, she told herself.

\- - -

When she awoke, it was to the careful brush of fingers through her hair.

She sat up abruptly, and found Julian very much alive and propped up on an elbow, watching her. She couldn’t help the way her eyes widened. Julian grinned.

“What, you didn’t think it would be that easy to get rid of me, did you?” he purred, stretching as if he’d just woken up from a nap, rather than come back from the brink of death. “Mm, actually, that did wonders for the crick I’ve had in my neck—“

He cut off when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

“Oh, no. No, no. Please don’t cry.” he stuttered, looking taking aback and more than a little guilty. He pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in. He squeezed her tight. "I'm here now. I'm alright, see?"

She coughed, trying to pull herself together. “You certainly took your time.” she accused once she could finally speak, smiling weakly through the tears that still ran down her face in rivulets. He wiped them from her face, laughing.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I put you through that.” he murmured, punctuating his words with kisses to her temple. “Let me make it up to you?” he offered, his smile tinged with something less chaste.

She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, tugging him up to kiss him firmly. He laughed against her lips, warm palms skimming across her back and up her sides, bringing her closer.

She crawled up into his lap, pushing his loose shirt off of his shoulders. She kissed along his collar bones, the touch of her lips feather-light and reverent. And then she moved to his throat, her lips tracing over the bruise that still lingered there. She hesitated, looking up at him.

“It’s nothing.” Julian said, brushing it off with a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Just a little souvenir from an old friend."

He tipped his head back, laughing, and she took the opportunity to push him back fully. He hit the mattress with a thump, and she crawled over him. Julian looked up at her expectantly, his auburn hair splayed around his head in a messy halo.

“If you ever die on me again, I’ll really kill you, so help me…” she warned, brushing his hair back into a semblance of order before leaning in to kiss him again.

He kissed her back eagerly, finding the topmost button of her shirt, fingers hovering in question. She nodded fervently, setting about fumbling with the last few buttons of his shirt. Julian kicked his boots off, and with those out of the way, she made quick work of the rest of their clothes.

She just stared at him a moment, her breath catching in her throat. He was beautiful before, but now that he was flushed and alive, he was positively radiant.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She smiled, shaking her head.

“Good. You’ll want to pay attention for this part.” he said with a lecherous wink.

She laughed, but her reply was cut off as Julian pulled them together, rolling her to the side. He rose up on his elbow to kiss her neck, her chest, her stomach, and then lower still.

“Oh.” she breathed. “You--you've got my attention now.”

He held her hips still and she groaned, fingers twisting into the bedsheets. In a matter of minutes she was trembling, the muscles in her thighs tensed, ready to fall over the edge any second. “Julian, please.” she gasped, uncertain what she was even begging for. But he knew her well enough not to need to ask. All at once he was moving faster and harder and she was aching so perfectly that she couldn’t help but toss her head back, arcing slightly off the bed as sparks shot down through her spine, tingling out through her extremities.

She was breathing hard, boneless as she reached to bring him up to kiss her. Julian’s hands smoothed over her sides, and he groaned as she moved beneath him, situating herself just so. She arched up against him, pulling him in closer, and he went willingly.

She dug her nails firmly into his back as he rolled his hips forward. Her body felt like a live wire, over-sensitized and thrumming with an energy building up once more. Julian’s shock of auburn hair fell into his eyes, his lips open in a half-formed gasp. And the movement of his muscles, the way his biceps tensed to support him above her, it was beautiful.

They moved together for what felt like ages, the jolt of their hips connecting sending spikes of pleasure up through her nerves almost too fast for her to keep up with. Julian was close too, his body like a strung bow, tensed and trembling with the energy of its potential release.

She bit down into the junction of his shoulder as she finished, teeth clamped bruisingly hard, hoping to take Julian along with her. He groaned, her name on his lips as he came.

Once she was finished seeing stars, she sat up on her elbow to look at him. She ran a thumb over the spot that had been a crescent of teeth marks only a moment before. Now the mark had faded back into pale, unblemished skin. “Seems like everything is back in working order.” she commented. Julian snorted, and it took her a moment to re-process what she’d said.

“Oh.” she said. “Well. I meant the curse but ah— definitely that too.”

Julian just chuckled and laid his head on her chest. “Mm. Glad to hear.” he hummed wryly.

She could feel his breathing evening out as he settled in against her, and she stroked a hand through his hair.

“…Thank you for not being dead.” she murmured after a moment, and she could feel his smile against her skin. “Anything for you, my dear.”


End file.
